Preparations essential for Tropical Cyclone Ita

Ergon Energy crews have been placed on alert and stand at the ready as Tropical Cyclone Ita tracks towards the Far North Queensland coast.

Energy and Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle said TC Ita was potentially the most powerful cyclone to threaten Queensland in three years and could make landfall as a category four storm.

“Standard preparations and checks have been underway this week for Ergon operations in northern parts of the state and the Emergency Management Plan has now been activated,” Mr McArdle said.

Mr McArdle said the electricity grid ended at Hope Vale north of Cooktown, but Ergon also operated eight isolated generation-based networks on the Cape York Peninsula.

“Pre-cyclone season preparations have ensured these areas have sufficient fuel and back up,” he said.

“Ergon crews are experienced, well trained and equipped to deal with severe weather events.

“Ergon has a number of options ready to go in terms of deployment of generators and mobile high voltage substations, known as Pegasus units.

“It also has extra generation on-call and at least four helicopters from aviation contractors on standby ready to assist if and when required.

Mr McArdle said cyclones were notoriously hard to predict and people across the Far North should be preparing themselves for possible impacts and power interruptions.

“Experience shows a category three cyclone can impact power supply for up to a fortnight, while category four or five systems have been known to leave some customers without power for a month, or longer,” he said.

“People should clean up loose items around homes and businesses in case of high winds.

“Airborne debris is known to cause some of the biggest impacts on the electricity network and people should make sure anything that could be blown around by cyclonic winds is secured.”

Mr McArdle urged all Queenslanders to remember flood safety basics because many cyclone systems also delivered high rainfall.

Flood advice – Before and during flooding:

• If you’re in a flood prone location, consider relocating your switchboard and any wiring in your home that may be below previous flood levels.
• Where possible, move any electrical equipment to higher ground.
• Turn off and unplug any electrical appliances that may become inundated with water.
• If moving around your area in boats, be aware of reduced powerline height clearances as flood waters will make you closer to the powerlines and power poles can also move from the force of flood waters.
• Warn children not to swim in flood waters

 Mr McArdle said people should always be patient when it came to restoring electricity supplies during and after a cyclone.

 “Safety must always come first,” he said.

 “Priority will be given to restoring critical community infrastructure such as hospitals, nursing homes, evacuations centres and the emergency services.”

Residents can get all necessary disaster preparation tips and other safety information on Ergon Energy’s website at:

https://www.ergon.com.au/outages--and--disruptions/storms-and-disasters/storm-and-cyclone-safety

[ENDS] 9 April 2014

Media Contact: Phil Hind 0437 334 183